Restoration of direct flights between Russia and Georgia is 'welcome', says Irakli Kobakhidze
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, January 20, 2023
Chairman of Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze, at the broadcast of Imedi LIVE said that restoration of direct air traffic with Russia will be welcome because of millions of Georgians living in Russia for whom direct flights to Russia are important.
"Do you remember that in 2019, Russia unilaterally decided to stop flights, it was a kind of sanction that came into force against Georgia, and it hurt the citizens of Georgia, up to a million people live in the Russian Federation, our fellow citizens, ethnically Georgians, as well as ethnically Azerbaijanis and Armenians, our fellow citizens and of course, the decision made in 2019 made the conditions and situation very difficult for them. If flights are restored, of course, it is important for our fellow citizens and it will be welcome," said Kobakhidze.
Irakli Kobakhidze was also asked about the CNN journalist's question to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who, when asked about circumventing the sanctions imposed against Russia, cited Georgia as an example.
Kobakhidze called it a 'lie' and said that this indicates the existence of a serious force that has "an interest in creating problems for Georgia".
According to Kobakhidze, their goal is to create artificial problems and a 'second front'.
"There are people, not people, but serious forces, what we call the Global War Party, we don't reveal the cards to the end, we know exactly what is meant behind it and we don't say. We know the Global War Party, which has an interest in involving Georgia in the war, and they are trying to do this in various ways and methods. One recent case was yesterday, involving Ursula von der Leyen, where a CNN journalist, based on a fake article, asked Ursula von der Leyen based on the supposed fact that Georgia is one of the main contributors to the fact that Sanctioned products are flowing into Russia. This is CNN, not TV Pirveli or the Mtavari channel, the pocket televisions of the Nationalist Movement. When lies of such a scale are heard on CNN, it indicates that there is some serious power that has an interest in artificially creating problems for Georgia. The goal of artificially creating problems can be the only one - escalation, and its final result should be the second front," said Kobakhidze.
